Chapter 5: Regarding the fact that I seem to have sold myself.

“Yes, really! I don’t remember anything!”

As if! I don’t have a single scrap of this body’s memories! Big Sis, who the heck are you anyway?!

“I’m Ruan Yuan,”

she said, her voice softening just a fraction from before—but only a fraction.

“Your very best friend.”

“My… very best friend?”

Bai Linlin repeated, more question marks popping up in her wide, light-colored eyes.

The identity drop came out of nowhere, but she slipped right into character—a pitiful, amnesiac little loli who needed someone to lean on.

“Mm.”

Ruan Yuan nodded. Her tone turned… subtly strange?

Like a statement, yet carrying something else underneath.

“After you disappeared, I was extremely worried. After all, you’re so weak, and so cute—what if bad people snatched you away?”

Bai Linlin immediately plastered on an awkward-but-polite smile, while internally muttering.

That phrasing… why does it sound kinda off?

But then again… maybe not wrong?

Judging from this body’s “combat power 5, cute and useless” evaluation, Ruan Yuan’s concern actually seemed perfectly reasonable.

“Then perfect!”

Bai Linlin seized the opening at once. Her small face bloomed with an expression of dependence and relief.

“You’re definitely not a bad person, right? Since you said you’re my very best friend.”

“That’s right.”

Ruan Yuan’s reply came instantly, without the slightest pause.

“I am Linlin’s very best friend.”

“So…”

Bai Linlin’s eyes sparkled as she looked up at her, cutting straight to the core question.

“You’ll protect me, right?”

“Yes.”

One word—crisp, decisive, almost emotionless, yet somehow incredibly trustworthy.

Bai Linlin felt a tiny bit more secure. Her courage grew a little too. Since this person claimed to be her “very best friend” and promised protection… maybe she could push her luck just a teensy bit?

She tested the waters, softening her voice even more.

“Then… will you listen to what I say?”

The question landed. Even Lin Yan, who had been standing a short distance away with every nerve taut, couldn’t stop his mouth from twitching.

The look he gave Bai Linlin was the look one gives someone bravely courting death.

Ruan Yuan visibly paused at the words.

She stared down at the white-haired little fluffball tilting her face up, trying so hard to look harmless, and muttered under her breath—almost inaudibly.

“Indeed it’s you… even with amnesia, still exactly the same.”

Her voice was too quiet; Bai Linlin only caught a breath of sound, not the actual words.

She tilted her head, puzzled.

Ruan Yuan didn’t explain. She simply nodded and spoke that single word again.

“Yes.”

Inside Bai Linlin’s mind, a little victory cheer went up! Jackpot!

This thigh looked scary, but apparently… pretty easy to talk to (…right?)?

“So, unblock me first. Let’s re-add each other as friends,” Ruan Yuan said.

Bai Linlin: “…”

Lin Yan: “…”

The air went still for a beat.

“We’re best friends, aren’t we?”

“Why… would I have blacklisted and deleted you?”

She was genuinely curious now. What kind of love-hate drama had gone down between the original host and this “very best friend”?

Ruan Yuan seemed to draw a soft breath, then slowly exhale.

“Forget the past. It’s better that way.”

She skipped the question entirely and shifted into tutorial mode.

“Now, I’ll teach you how to do it. Focus your mind. Think ‘panel’ or ‘system interface’ in your head.”

Bai Linlin did as instructed.

Sure enough, the familiar semi-transparent blue panel unfolded in her vision, still displaying her pitiful personal info and quests.

“Look at the top right—see the icon with three short horizontal lines? Tap it.”

Ruan Yuan’s voice guided from right beside her, very close.

Bai Linlin mentally controlled it (this system was actually pretty convenient) and tapped the menu.

A list popped up: [Attributes], [Quests], [Inventory], [Friends], [System Settings]…

“Tap [Friends].”

Ruan Yuan continued.

The friends interface opened. Clean and simple: left side [Friend List] (completely empty), right side several sub-options: [Add Friend], [Friend Requests], [Blacklist].

“Tap [Blacklist],” Ruan Yuan said, voice flat.

Bai Linlin tapped.

A short list appeared.

Not many names—maybe seven or eight. Right at the top, bold as anything: “Ruan Yuan.” Followed by a gray [Unblock] button.

“Find ‘Ruan Yuan’ and tap [Unblock],” Ruan Yuan instructed clearly.

As Bai Linlin operated, she couldn’t help asking curiously.

“Um… Sister Ruan Yuan, the other people in my blacklist…”

“They’re all bad people.”

Ruan Yuan cut her off, tone absolute, even carrying a faint chill.

“If you ever run into them in the future, or hear those names—stay far away. Never trust them. Never make contact.”

“Oh… okay.”

Bai Linlin shrank her neck at the cold edge in her voice, then obediently unblocked “Ruan Yuan.”

But internally she couldn’t help thinking: All bad people? Then why were you grouped together with them in the blacklist, Sis? That logic doesn’t add up!

The moment the unblock finished—ding.

A notification popped up on the panel:

[Player ‘Ruan Yuan’ requests to add you as a friend. Accept?]

Bai Linlin glanced at Ruan Yuan. Ruan Yuan gave her a slight nod. She tapped [Accept].

A single lonely name instantly appeared in her friend list.

Ruan Yuan. Profile picture: pure black, nothing visible.

Before Bai Linlin could poke around to see what else the friends interface offered, another notification appeared—this one larger, its border flickering with faint golden light.

[Friend ‘Ruan Yuan’ has initiated a special request: Room Fusion]

[Description: Upon acceptance, your personal exclusive safe space (room) and Friend ‘Ruan Yuan’s’ will undergo permanent fusion, becoming a shared dual-occupancy space. After fusion, both parties may freely enter and exit the space and share certain basic facilities. This action is irreversible. Please choose carefully.]

[Accept?]

“This… what is this?”

Bai Linlin stared at words like “permanent” and “irreversible,” feeling a little dazed.

Safe space? Like a player’s private room, rest area, something like that? Fusion?

Ruan Yuan seemed to have anticipated the prompt. She explained calmly.

“To protect you. It’s necessary.”

“Huh?” Bai Linlin didn’t quite follow. “Why is fusing rooms necessary?”

“So I can be by your side and protect you twenty-four hours a day.”

Ruan Yuan said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Her gaze on Bai Linlin made her feel like she’d just asked a very stupid question.

“The game is full of dangers. In your current state, even staying alone in your personal room isn’t safe. After fusion, I can go there anytime.”

It… actually sounded kind of reasonable?

Bai Linlin thought.

She was combat power 5 trash right now. Having a powerhouse willing to bodyguard her 24/7 (even if the method was a bit weird) seemed like a no-brainer profit, right?

Sure, “permanent” and “irreversible” sounded scary, but in a death game, survival came first. Maybe it wasn’t so bad?

She glanced at Lin Yan in the distance—still holding the shotgun, expression shifting uncertainly.

Temporary teammate… versus someone who claimed to be her “very best friend,” whose strength was unfathomable, and who had just promised protection.

Seemed like… no real hesitation?

“Oh… okay.”

Bai Linlin nodded, deciding not to overthink it (or rather, selectively ignoring that tiny, nagging sense of something off). She mentally tapped [Accept].

A new prompt appeared:

[Request accepted. Room fusion process initiating… Estimated time required: 12 in-game hours. During this period, both parties’ room functions will be temporarily unavailable.]

The prompt vanished.

Ruan Yuan had watched her every move. Only when she saw the fusion process start did a real change finally appear on her face.

Still crouched there, looking at the little dummy who had just permanently shared her “den” with her—and who now wore an expression of “there, now I should be safe, right?”—the corners of Ruan Yuan’s mouth slowly, uncontrollably lifted.

A clear, triumphant, deeply satisfied smile.

Bai Linlin caught that smile.

The faint sense of wrongness she’d felt the moment she pressed accept suddenly surged back—stronger than before.

Wait… this feeling… why does it seem… kind of not right?